Adding a subwoofer to studio monitors?

[BoneDigger]

I'm using Yamaha HS8 monitors. Would adding an HS8 subwoofer to the system be a plus or minus for Americana type music.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I'm using Yamaha HS8 monitors. Would adding an HS8 subwoofer to the system be a plus or minus for Americana type music.

If there's a 5 string bass in the mix you might get some benefit but the lowest frequency for a 4 string bass is 41.2 and your Yammies are supposed to be good down to 38. Not everyone needs a sub and in your case I think you're fine without one.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by BoneDigger

I'm using Yamaha HS8 monitors. Would adding an HS8 subwoofer to the system be a plus or minus for Americana type music.

Some years back when we were goin' through the "on again, off again, on again, off again" merry-go-round 5.1 delivery spec for television we introduced a sub (and 5.1) to all of our bays. For stereo mixes I absolutely hated it. So artificially hyped. Sounds good in the room but awful elsewhere. For me it's definitely a no.

[KevWind]

I have to agree with Jim and Joseph . I think for most us doing basically guitars and vocals (even with some VI's) etc. it's a bit overkill. If perhaps one is doing really thumpy dance or electronica then perhaps . Personally I would save that money for some other future upgrade , but that's just me ....

[ljguitar]

Hi BD
There are differences of opinion of how monitors are to be used.

The purpose of studio monitors for me is to help evaluate the recording of a source. It needs to be an authentic reproduction with great detail of what was just recorded. For me it's a dedicated pair of speakers (I only do stereo recording and mixing).

I want the sound to be as naked and honest as possible. I want to hear mistakes, changes, and other details clearly.

A mix down with effects, compression, and stereo placement could easily involve/necessitate a different set of monitors.

My monitors are not my stereo system (which is a 5.1 with a great sub) for gaming or watching movies. They are my test-kit to be sure the take is viable.

Of course you can do anything you want with your monitors, they are your speakers, and you may want them to do multiple-tasks, and throw a sub on it to stream/play music in you studio area…especially if it shares other tasks than recording music.

[Bob Womack]

If your music includes a kick and a bass, you probably want a sub. At the studio, I'm running soffit-mounted UREI 813b/c monitors, each with two 15" woofers that are known to roll off below about 60hz. Here they are with the covers off.



Until we put in a subwoofer I had to work pretty hard and shop my mixes around to multiple monitor systems to get an idea what was really going on down at the bottom and how the kick and bass were relating. Another thing that was a tad hard to gauge was bass compression, ie. how much to use. The sub made that far easier. At home I am running UREI 811c monitors with a single 15" woofer that are known to roll off starting at around 120hz.



The subs really add definition to the bottom. More on this in an excellent article by acoustician Bob Hodas, HERE.

Part of the trick is to really calibrate them. Monitors aren't there to sound great, they are there to make you mix well.


All the best,


Bob

[MikeBmusic]

No one has mentioned it yet ... so: how acoustically treated is your mixing room?
A sub could introduce all sorts of *interesting* low reflections in your room.

Yamaha says the HS8 low end is 38Hz. If you bring your mixes to other systems (and especially those with a sub), do you hear any low end issues?

[BoneDigger]

My room is pretty well treated. Is it perfect? No. I have never had it professionally tested to see what may be wrong with it, but it is treated.

I do sometimes have issues when taking a mix to other systems. I'm trying to learn to compensate when I mix and master, but I'm a long way from good at it.

[Bob Womack]

At work I mix in a Live End Dead End control room (unlicensed but designed by an acoustic designer who studied the design at Syn-Aud-Con). The front end is as anechoic as possible and the back end has a diffuser array designed by Dr. Peter D'Antonio and built by his RPG Diffusers, Inc. The shell is designed to reduce interference from reflections and steer any remaining reflections to the rear wall where the diffusers break them up into a very short reverb rather than hard returns.




More, HERE.

Home is a typical, if large, living room (30'x15' with a cathedral ceiling rising from 10' to 18' at the peak. The main atypical features are the two huge studio monitors flanking the flat screen TV. The combination of carpet, bookshelves, drapes, and whatnot kill off hard reflections and flutter and leave you with a diffuse reverb around three-quarters of a second.

Bob

[BoneDigger]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

At work I mix in a Live End Dead End control room (unlicensed but designed by an acoustic designer who studied the design at Syn-Aud-Con). The front end is as anechoic as possible and the back end has a diffuser array designed by Dr. Peter D'Antonio and built by his RPG Diffusers, Inc. The shell is designed to reduce interference from reflections and steer any remaining reflections to the rear wall where the diffusers break them up into a very short reverb rather than hard returns.




More, HERE.

Home is a typical, if large, living room (30'x15' with a cathedral ceiling rising from 10' to 18' at the peak. The main atypical features are the two huge studio monitors flanking the flat screen TV. The combination of carpet, bookshelves, drapes, and whatnot kill off hard reflections and flutter and leave you with a diffuse reverb around three-quarters of a second.

Bob

Thanks Bob! I really wish I could do more with my room treatment, but given my level of both musicianship and dedication, I really can't justify going too crazy. I think adding a few things certainly is doable (like a sub), but mostly I just need to learn what to listen for, figure out my EQ issues, and just get better in my abilities to compensate.

[Bob Womack]

Oops! Sorry, Mr. Bones. I mistook the question from MikeBmusic as a question from you to those who had responded. I didn't mean to wag my room in your face. Sorry again.

Bob

[Glennwillow]

My son has a pair of Neumann KH 120 monitors. Several people he advised that he does music for in the video gaming world also bought these speakers, some with a subwoofer.

I liked them so much I also decided to buy the Neumann KH 120 monitors plus I bought a Presonus T10 subwoofer. I have a switch that allows me to cut out the subwoofer whenever I want to. This allows me to compare the KH 120 monitors with and without the subwoofer. I selected the subwoofer crossover frequency at 80 Hz. I of course control how loud the subwoofer is compared to the main monitors; the subwoofer is adjusted so that the low bass effect is quite subtle. I really dislike exaggerated bass like that used in rap and similar forms of "music."

My son who doesn't use a subwoofer notices the difference in my studio compared to his, but he likes the sound.

Do I need it? Probably not, but it does allow me to hear really low frequency noises that I might not otherwise hear. Once I hear them, I can then decide what I want to do about them. I have checked and often I can't hear those noises with just the KH 120 speakers. The KH 120 speakers are down -3 db at 52 Hz, if I remember correctly.

I like the subwoofer in my studio, but again I like it adjusted for subtle bass reinforcement. For many people in home studios it's probably more than most people can justify.

- Glenn

[DupleMeter]

IMHO - subs are for LFE in a surround or Atmos mix. I much prefer a good set of 3-way midfields (I'm partial to Dynaudio).

[lkingston]

I have a Monoprice subwoofer with a bypass foot switch. In bypass it sends full range signal to my reference monitors. I really like going back and forth to check mixes. There is more wow factor to the sound with it engaged.